It is of great interest to control cellular functions by delivering exogenous species into cells. Traditionally, this task is accomplished by delivering genes into a cell so that the genetic information is transcribed to RNAs and then translated into proteins that regulate specific cell functions.
Currently, delivery of exogenous genetic materials into cells can be achieved by numerous approaches, including viral (e.g., adeno-associated and lenti-viral vectors, and BacMam), physio-chemical (e.g., calcium phosphate, electroporation, liposome, and polycation-mediated), and mechanical methods (e.g., microinjection).
A high-throughput method is yet to be developed for delivering exogenous materials in general (including non-genetic materials) into cells of different types. Indeed, there is a demand for a method that is not only efficient and scalable, but also allows for localized delivery at different positions within a cell and massively parallel analysis of the impacts of different chemical and biological species on cellular functions.